Jewell

Savior - one who brings salvation from enemies and from sin to both Jews and Gentiles Christ the Lord - the highest conceivable and most lofty designation of Christ

Jesus was born among the poor and disreputable. He went from one end of the spectrum to the other. He came to serve and to give His life. There was no silver spoon, there were no advantages given to Him in His earthly life. He came as a shepherd to His sheep.

Joseph accepting Mary as his wife says that he had full trust and faith in God. The prophetic fulfillment required that the savior be of the line of David - by Joseph accepting the child as his (naming him), he fulfilled that prophecy.

The virgin conception and the name Immanual (God with us) found it's fullness in the birth of Jesus in that He was the presence of God on earth in man's body.

The significance of the name Jesus is the meaning, Yahweh saves - it was his mission. The angel may have given Mary and Joseph the name independently so there was no question.

Mary really had no options - the two "careers" open to her, housekeeping for a rich family or prostitution, would both be limited by her condition. Joseph's character exhibited kindness and a caring for another human being regardless of their circumstances.

As the son of a carpenter, Jesus would have learned about working with his hands, working for and serving others, the patience and refinement needed to produce a good product, the special skills of a craftsman, the joy in simple living, dedication to one's career, using the skills provided by God, and that practice enables one to get better at what they're doing, etc.

Both titles are drawn from the statements made by Elizabeth. I don't know why we're hesitant to exalt her as "blessed among women" - it seems totally appropriate to me.

The essence of Mary's response is total faith and obedience. What can we learn?....Let go and let God...easy to say, hard to do.

The virgin conception teaches us that Jesus is of the same nature as His Father, fully divine, God in the flesh, God incarnate.

Zechariah's "how" was voiced in disbelief where Mary's was voiced in faith.

Mary's child was the Son of God, the King of the Jews, the Son of the Most High, the Jewish Messiah, the Son of David.....who would become a great person who would inherit the throne of his father David, reign over the house of Jacob forever, whose kingdom would never end.

The early Roman Christians were likely exposed to threat of injury, dismemberment, or death, loss of their home and threats to their family. Today's Christians are likely exposed to the same depending on where they live. I praise God that I live in the United States where I can openly worship Him, congregate with other Christians, and publicly voice my faith. Each time the govenment tries to pass a law that places limits on those rights, we see an overwhelming response from believers, and we know that only a portion of them are speaking up. We lose some, we win some. Our ability to overwhelmingly conquer will be in getting all believers to speak up for Christ, to draw others to Him, to spread the Word of His Love.

If God is for us, who can be against us? If God is for us, we've already won. If God is for us, anyone against us has already lost. Satan is our enemy and those who we let influence us in his ways. We know God is for us because he gave His one and only son - I couldn't do that - if I couldn't do what Abraham did, how could I even come close to giving my son in the way that God did? "If God is for us, who can be against us" gives us everlasting hope. It allows our faith to be strengthened in the hope of better things to come.

to "be conformed to the likeness of his Son" means that God is working in us to shape us into Christ's image and character. This most likely involves struggle and conflict - vehicles for change. As we become more like Jesus, we become closer to God, spiritually and as sons and daughters to their Father.

The promise is that there will be good that comes out of "all things" for those who love God. The qualifications are (1) those who love God and (2) those called according to His purpose.

I expect God's glory will fill the earth and all around. I imagine that the earth will be as it was in the beginning, a garden, a paradise.

A person without hope has no expectations, nothing to look forward to, no confidence in tomorrow, probably going through life being depressed. A person who holds an eager expectation of a better future would be looking forward to tomorrow with great expectations for better circumstances in the future. The Christian hope is in the return of Christ, which should motivate us to live our lifes to the best of our ability as followers of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit acts as Helper/Mediator/Intercessor by speaking for us in prayer. The similarity is in the purpose - to help, mediate, or intercede being similar to that of a councelor. I think we take the Holy Spirit for granted or fail to understand His ministry to and through us because we so closely relate the Spirit to Jesus, as if they are one. Where we can picture Jesus in our mind (whether it's an accurate picture doesn't matter), it is hard to picture the Holy Spirit.

Creation seems to be suffering because of its bondage to decay, brought about by Adam and Eve's sin. That sin and our sin which made suffering Jesus' lot in life. The end of the suffering will begin with the return of Christ, a renewal, the deliverance of a new era.

I see 8 references to being children of God (or similar statements). We see promises of sonship, co-heirs with Christ, sharing in his glory, liberation from bondage, glorious freedom, hope, help from the Spirit, intercession from the Spirit, and the promise that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Our future awaits us as adopted children. Our future holds hope which we wait for patiently (and sometimes not so patiently).

We put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit when we turn our life over to Christ and allow the Spirit to lead us. We allow the Spirit to lead us each time we make a choice that develops into a fruit of the spirit as a result of an action or thought. The Spirit does the leading but we must make the choice to allow it.

No, we do not have to sin. We are not compelled to sin. It is possible to live hours of wakefulness without sinning. I don't think the defeatist attitude comes from Scripture - I think it comes from an emphasis on some parts of scripture. We are told over and over that all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God, when the emphasis and repetitiveness should be on living a life that glorifies God, one that reaps the fruit of the Spirit.

It is not possible to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit residing in us. Acceptance of Christ as our Savior is also acceptance of the gift He left with us, the Holy Spirit.

Setting your mind on things of the Spirit means focusing on what is Godly, what is good, what is pleasing to God, those things that are the fruit of the Spirit....love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We can recognize when the things we set our minds on relate to our sinful nature because they do not bear fruit that gives evidence to our love of Christ. Because of our sinful nature, we must make a concerted effort to follow Christ and live under the influence of the Spirit. As we bring ourselves more into the nature of and under the influence of the Spirit, it becomes easier, takes less effort, and our lives begin to be a reflection of the Spirit.